Destruction of the Espheni Power Core
The Destruction of the Espheni Power Core was a strike launched by the 2nd Mass against the Espheni Power Station located on the Moon. Prelude During the Battle of Chinatown, Cochise manages to shoot down an enemy Beamer which survives mostly intact. The next night, Tom and Hal Mason see flashes of light on the Moon that affect the crashed Beamer and Cochise realizes that it is the Espheni power core. As a result, the 2nd Mass and the Volm decide to use the Beamer to launch an attack on the power station and destroy it which would disable all Espheni technology on Earth and their mechanized servants. Using Mira's scout whistle, Shaq manages to unearth the Beamer and the 2nd Mass is able to figure out a way to pilot it through a combination of manual piloting and autopilot. Following a partially-rigged lottery, Tom Mason and his son Ben are chosen to pilot the Beamer, but these plans are interrupted when Alexis Glass-Mason unexpectedly returns to help. Alexis tells them that while they may have gotten the Beamer airborne, without her they will never make it to the Moon and back alive but with her powers, she can pilot the ship safely and protect it from any threat that arises along the way. Tom reluctantly agrees to let Alexis co-pilot the ship with him and a bomb is prepared for the power core. The plan is to fly the ship manually above the Earth's atmosphere where it will be locked onto the homing beacon of the Espheni Moon base and fly itself there on autopilot. Once near the Moon base, the landing procedure will be activated and the Beamer will dock with the power core where the bomb will be dropped and activated before the ship is flown away from the power core before the explosion. Once the power core is destroyed, Alexis will fly it back to Earth on battery power alone. Battle Despite intense g-forces, Alexis is able to safely pilot the Beamer into space where she locks onto the homing beacon and engages the autopilot. However, Tom notices its getting cold on the ship and Alexis discovers the ship has a hairline fracture in the hull that due to the life support system compensating for, is draining too much power from the ship and they won't have enough power to get home. As they can't go outside and repair the damage and Tom refuses to turn back, Alexis suggests using a cocoon to put themselves into stasis so that they can deactivate the life support system until they are close enough to the Moon. Tom agrees and after a shared dream, they wake to find themselves near the Moon with enough power to get back. However, unknown to them both, the bomb casing was damaged by the cold temperatures resulting from the lack of life support. Shortly after Tom discovers the problem with the bomb, the Overlord Scorch arrives in a much larger Beamer and captures theirs with a tractor beam. Tom decides to face Scorch who uses a harnessed Mira to communicate with them. As Scorch attempts to kill Alexis, Tom kills him with a Volm poison. As Scorch dies however, he destroys his ship's autopilot system. With no bomb, Tom suggests using Scorch's ship as the bomb instead and goes to deactivate the tractor beam as Alexis sets Scorch's ship on a collision course with the power core. However, Alexis discovers the destruction of the autopilot system and realizes she can still pilot it herself manually. After saying goodbye to Tom, Alexis releases his ship on a course back to Earth and flies Scorch's ship on a course for the power core. As Alexis flies to the power core, Tom comes under attack by a squadron of enemy Beamers from the Moon base called in by Scorch before he died. As the Beamers close in on Tom's ship, Waschak-cha'ab returns and destroys the enemy squadron with his battleship's cannons, saving Tom. Alexis performs a suicide run with Scorch's Beamer directly into the middle of the power core, destroying it. The power core goes up in a massive explosion that is visible from Earth and turns part of the Moon green for at least a time. However, the shockwave from the explosion blasts out into space where it sends Tom's Beamer spiraling into deep space. Aftermath As hoped, the destruction of the power core neutralizes the Espheni technology and mechanized servants, forcing them to rely on their organic servants instead. It also leaves them disorganized and the Global Resistance rallies to march on Espheni nests across the world and destroy them once and for all. The destruction of the power core saves the 2nd Mass who were under attack by an Espheni Farm which was trying to turn them into Skitters. The Volm are unable to locate Tom Mason's Beamer, but he is rescued by the Dornia, the Espheni's Great Enemy who return him to Earth and through him, guide the human race in the war against the Espheni who are working on building a weapon to turn the tide back in their favor while the Dornia claim to be building a weapon that will destroy the Espheni that only Tom can use. With the loss of their technology, the Espheni lose their advantage in the war, reduced to their organic servants instead of mechanical ones. This allows humanity to make significant progress, ending in an attack on Washington, D.C. ending in the Espheni being wiped out when Tom Mason infects their queen with a Dornia bioweapon. Category:Season 4 Category:Battles